Brazilian Generosity

South west of Vienna, far far away in the tropics of Brazil has a sweet old grandmother made four pairs of soft knitted baby shoes for Silja. I got them earlier this week, when I met with my dear friend Priscilla for lunch. She went back home to do fieldwork in Brazilian prisons over the summer (yeah, forget about my coffee dates with skilled migrants in Vienna...) and the grandmother gave her a bag with more shoes for the friend in Austria, who had a baby. She also provided two pairs when Silja was newborn. Oh well, now they don't fit. In fact we need to go and buy new shoes, because those feet are growing so fast, but we'll save these little ones well, and hopefully the hand-knitted goods from a Brazilian grandmother will eventually fit someone else's tiny feet.

Have a happy weekend!

Oversæt til dansk

Jul

We spent Christmas in Denmark, and it went by way too fast, the way it often is with vacations. Silja had a blast hanging out with all her many big and small cousins, and I suppose that was the greatest gift for me this time around. Somebody need to invent a travel machine, so it's possible to go instantly back and forth between places: Snap we are Vienna, snap checking in for coffee in Fredericia and snap dinner with the grand parents in Reykjavik... Imagine that. Till that is taken care of, we'll continue to treasure those kinds of moments with extra care as they are long in between for us.

Due to the upcoming craziness of thesis deadline, packing and moving us and our stuff halfway across the world, this trip was more quiet than usual (I didn't see any old friends as I normally do, but we are coming back in April on our way to Boston, and count me in for a date then if you happen to read this!) but it was great with a little breather.

We came back to Wien late last night with a little one who started throwing up in the middle of the night, a messy apartment, a library late fee and stacks of papers waiting to be 'dealt with'. Bvaah. Every day life again -- which is not that bad after all, it's just the transition from fun days together with dear ones to that everyday jumble. We have spent the day scrubbing the place down, which all of a sudden has a strange temporary feel to it now that we are past Christmas. We got three months left in Vienna.

A very belated merry Christmas to you. Glædelig jul/Gleðileg Jól!

Oversæt til dansk

Freitag, Samstag

Watching Elf Friday night and two little half Danes making cookies Saturday afternoon. This weekend is oozing of Christmas, and it's an awfully nice end to a busy week.

Oversæt til dansk

Road-tripping with Morfar

My dad and Karen stopped by Vienna this past week during their vacation, and over the weekend, after Bjarni had left for the US, Silja and myself got to go on a little road-trip with them, which was absolutely amazing, considering my desire to explore more of Austria. We went to Wachau and to Rust and Mörbisch by Neusiedler See, and you got to excuse me for the overload of pictures, but family combined with new adventures and good weather is doomed to be that way. They were harvesting the wine by Neusidler See, and I wish I would have been able to get a proper picture of them driving away with the big containers full of grapes. It looked so appealing. Anyhow, exploring Austria with the two of them was great fun, and I hope we'll get to see them again soon. Tak for besøg!

Oversæt til dansk

30

I turned 30 this past Friday and had the most fantastic day. I had to take Silja for a check-up and a vaccination at the pediatrician in the morning, and when we came back an hour later I was surprised by my sisters, my dad and Karen, who were standing outside our front door singing and waving flags. They had come by plane early in the morning and neither Bjarni nor I had any clue they were going to casually "stop by". Talk about a (GOOD) surprise! In the evening friends came over for homemade sushi, and I enjoyed having a lot of people over, something that happens (too) rarely now because of a baby. Saturday was spent in the city showing my family as much as possible of Vienna, before they traveled back home again. Today - three days later - I still receive the sweetest birthday surprises in the mail from Denmark with funny old pictures and cool presents. I'm one lucky lady, and there are no painful feelings connected to entering a new decade. I'm right where I want to be in life with those I love, and I can't wait to see what this new decade will bring to me and to us. Cheers to the 30's!

Oversæt til dansk

Visiting Home

Denmark this time around was lots of strawberries, sweet cousins, old friends, dinner dates, summer rain, colorful art, salty licorice and a job interview; the last one resulting in much reflection about living in Denmark. Having lived away from home the past five years, going back on a visit like this one is a strange mix of feelings of fitting right in and feeling strangely out of place. I suppose it is unavoidable when developing ties to more than one place, combined with being out of the daily loop of one specific place in terms of all those big and small changes that are continually taking place. Nevertheless fingers crossed that things in Aarhus pan out...

Oversæt til dansk

Amma & Afi in Vienna

We had to skip the planned trip to Budapest due to study overload/job interview preparations, and instead welcomed Bjarni's parents to Vienna for the weekend. It was great to have them here, and together we ate a lot of good food, talked and celebrated our 5th (!) wedding anniversary. Silja took a serious liking to her afi, who was full of fun and never-ending tricks.

They brought along a nice colorful candle holder, which is looking pretty now on the table where both of us are working. Tomorrow we are flying to Denmark, and I can't wait to see some of my old friends, whom I haven't seen for ages. Yibiii!

Oversæt til dansk

Vacationing in Deutschland

... that is sort of what we did last week, when traveling to Northern Germany to spend the long weekend (holiday in DK) with my family. It was great to see everybody again and to enjoy the seaside. Geez, I miss the ocean here in Central Europe! The brown river of Danube is just not the same. And hanging out for those late summer sun sets near a beach is the best! Ahh! Four great days away from the daily routine were over in snap. We are back in sunny Wien, which is not bad either.

Oversæt til dansk

Outside

This week is sunny and warm, and we, like a lot of the locals, are enjoying afternoons in the park and dinner outside. We met up with good friends yesterday, who unfortunately will be moving to Bangkok soon. We will miss them! When not enjoying the great weather, there are lots and lots to do with school, so I apologize for being more absent than usual in here...

I hope you are enjoying the great weather too!

Oversæt til dansk